


Dying Not to Hurt You

by costumejail



Series: Android AU [3]
Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: (maintenance but same thing), Additional Warnings Apply, Androids, First Aid, First Kiss, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Jet Star (Danger Days), Nonbinary Party Poison (Danger Days), Other, ill put them in notes, the jetgear is background but important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/costumejail/pseuds/costumejail
Summary: Party looked at Ghoul through his eyelashes, something in his chest was whirring and Ghoul tried not to think about how much he wanted that moment to have been real.“Thanks for fixing my leg,” Party murmured.Their lower lip was shiny with spit. Ghoul felt like he was going to throw up.“You don’t have t’ do that. That’s not—” Ghoul shuddered. “Sorry, I— I have to go. I’m sorry.”
Relationships: Fun Ghoul & Jet Star & Kobra Kid & Party Poison (Danger Days), Fun Ghoul & Jet Star (Danger Days), Fun Ghoul/Party Poison (Danger Days), Jet Star/Mad Gear (Danger Days), except kobra isnt here yet
Series: Android AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914121
Comments: 54
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

“Fuck. Gross. Get a room.”

“Hey, Ghoul,” Mad Gear smiled, wiping his mouth with the back of one hand.

Below him, Jet Star at least had the good grace to look embarrassed at being caught making out, but they didn’t seem very apologetic. 

“I live here, too, y’know, Ghoulie.”

Mad Gear bent down again, nosing at Jet’s neck. 

They shuddered and smacked his shoulder, pushing back to sit up rather than being sandwiched between their boyfriend and the couch. “ _Cariño,_ give it a rest.”

Mads let out an exaggerated sigh and collapsed, pressing his face into Jet’s stomach before rolling his head to the side and flashing a lopsided grin at the moderately-startled killjoys in the door. “How was th’ market?”

“Good,” Ghoul shrugged. “Got what we needed, right, Pois?” He grinned over his shoulder at the newest member of their crew.

Party Poison didn’t answer. Their eyebrows were creeping together and Ghoul could hear whirring, which either meant that they were overheating (always a possibility in the desert) or really overthinking something.

“Pois?”

“What were you doing?” Party demanded. He didn’t sound upset, just curious, but he was still figuring out what that actually sounded like to people that had, y’know, been allowed to have emotions for their whole lives. So the overall effect was a little upset.

“Kissing,” replied Jet easily.

“What’s that?”

“This.” Mads pushed up and captured Jet’s lips in a loud smacking kiss.

Ghoul retched exaggeratedly and Jet rolled their eyes. Party’s eyebrows were still knitted together when Ghoul looked back at them.

“Why?”

“It’s uh,” Jet shifted, clearly unprepared for another session of explaining-things-to-a-still-somewhat-newly-freed-android time. “It’s a way to show affection. That we like each other.”

“So you do it to people you like?”

“Yep!”

“Why is it gross?”

“Because I don’t wanna see Jet with Mads’ tongue halfway down their throat on the couch we _all share_.” Ghoul directed the end of his sentence at the unashamed couple, still fairly twisted together on the cushions. He didn’t mention how jealous he was of them for being able to kiss the people they liked.

“How did you get your to—”

“Sorry, figure of speech.”

“So Mad Gear’s tongue wasn’t—”

“No.” Finally, Mads sat up and got out from between Jet’s legs. “Just in their mouth.”

“Oh. Kissing. Noted.” The whirring sound died down and Party turned back to Ghoul. “We need to put the supplies away.”

The sudden change of topic sent Ghoul’s head spinning. “No more questions?”

“Not... Right now.”

“Okay, let’s get this shit stowed.”

Party nodded, following Ghoul into the kitchen. As they left the dining room, Ghoul saw Jet and Mads sneak into the main bedroom, holding hands and stepping quickly. He rolled his eyes and let the kitchen door swing shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cariño = Honey (Spanish)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some warnings here for injuries, (presumed) trauma flashbacks for a non-POV character, vomit mention, and brief nonconsensual kissing. Also, no sexual content but stuff is implied to be erotic to one character.

Nearly a full moon later, Party came to Ghoul with a stiff leg and a plea on his lips.

“Fun Ghoul, my leg’s drive belts are not functioning.”

“Call me Ghoul,” replied Ghoul without even thinking. He pushed his welding goggles up to the top of his head and smiled at the redhead in front of him. “And, Witch, sit down, Party, let me look at you.”

“Thank you, Ghoul.”

Party stiffly collapsed to Ghoul’s workbench, their leg completely straight. Ghoul set down his wrench and knelt.

“I’m gonna check your movement, ‘kay?”

Party nodded shakily, chewing his lip and not meeting Ghoul’s eyes.

“Hey,” Party looked at Ghoul with wide eyes. Fearful eyes. “Tell me if it hurts, okay? Or if you don’t want me doing something.”

“Okay,” whispered Party.

Ghoul hovered his hands above Party’s leg, one at their shin and one at their foot. 

“Okay?”

Party nodded, more determined this time.

Trying to be gentle, Ghoul took Party’s leg in his hands and tried to work the joint. A gasp slipped from Party’s lips when his ankle made a sharp creaking sound as it moved jerkily. Immediately, Ghoul let go and sat back. It took a second for Party to get his breathing under control, then he opened his eyes and nodded.

“You okay?”

“Affirmative.” Just saying the word looked like it caused Party pain.

“Party…”

“Hurts,” he finally gritted out.

There was an ache in Ghoul’s chest that he tried to tell himself wasn’t related to how scared Party looked.

“Thank you for telling me. D’you want a break or do you wanna keep going?”

For a long moment, Party didn’t respond. They flexed their fingers and took a few deep breaths. When they replied, at last, they sounded a lot calmer, and more importantly, less like they were in pain.

“You can keep going.”

“Okay, I’m gonna check your knee now. Tell me when it hurts.” 

Party’s knee didn’t even move, not that Ghoul had expected it to. 

“So that’s fucked, too. Okay if I check your hip?”

“Should I stand?”

“Fuck, no, Party. I can do it like this. Don’t strain yourself.”

Gratefully, Party exhaled. A flash of anger lit up Ghoul’s mind as he thought about how hardwired it was in Party that maintenance should equal pain. He braced one hand on Party’s hip(bone? Ghoul wasn’t sure how that worked) and one on his thigh. Party’s breathing quickened slightly at the contact but slowed down as Ghoul carefully worked the joint. It smoothly moved up and down, then side to side as normal. Ghoul’s own sigh of relief came out at that.

“So just your knee, then. Can you roll these up so I can get to the panel?”

Party looked away as they shook their head. Ghoul had already known that; for some reason, the droid had an affinity for shockingly tight pants and they could barely roll them to midcalf on a good day.

“They can be removed?” Offered Party.

Something lit up in Ghoul at the offer. He quickly tamped it down, the middle of maintenance was _not_ the time to be dealing with a crush that Ghoul was already trying desperately to repress. Party probably didn’t even like that stuff, or know about it, and Ghoul wasn’t going to press the issue when he was just as happy to be his crewmate. Still, Ghoul had to clear his throat before he replied “That works,” and closed his eyes.

The sounds of rustling fabric were shockingly loud in the otherwise quiet garage as Party shed his pants. He huffed in frustration and Ghoul cracked an eye open.

“I can’t reach…” Party indicated the pants hanging off the ankle that they couldn’t quite stretch to without bending their leg.

“S’okay, I just need to get to the panel.” Ghoul coughed again, feeling his face heat up as he bent and pressed his hands to Party’s bare skin. He was warm, always was, and Ghoul tried not to linger as he slid the panel just above Party’s knee open. At first, Ghoul couldn’t see the issue. The drive belts were all attached properly, nothing out of place or twisted, and there wasn’t anything blocking the gears.

“I can’t see anything… Okay if I poke around in there?”

“Uh-huh.” Party nodded casually, though Ghoul saw their knuckles go white on the edge of the bench.

“I know I’m gettin’ repetitive but promise you’ll tell me if I hurt you.”

“Promise,” murmured Party. 

Ghoul knew Party knew that one, it was one of the first words he’d taught him.

Carefully, Ghoul disconnected Party’s drive belt and tried to spin the pulley it was attached to. The pulley didn’t move. Ghoul peered closer and saw that it was out of alignment. After relaying this to Party, and getting the go-ahead to tap it back into place, Ghoul grabbed a mallet and a screwdriver to brace against the pulley with.

“I’m gonna go on three, count it out with me.”

Together, Ghoul and Party counted down from three. Ghoul knocked the end of the screwdriver with the mallet and the pulley shifted. Not enough, but slightly.

“One more time should do it, ‘kay?”

Again, the ‘joys counted down. At one, Ghoul tapped the screwdriver. The pulley shifted more than it had the first time, snapping back into place. Ghoul hadn’t been expecting it to move that much, though, and the screwdriver slipped from the pulley and into a bundle of clear wires just behind it.

Instantly, Party screamed. Their hands flew to their leg as the sound tore from their chest. They tensed in a way that Ghoul knew meant they were trying to jerk their knee away from him, but with the drive belt detached, all they managed to do was push themself off of the bench and onto Ghoul’s lap. Frantically, Party scrambled off of Ghoul, raising their hands again and cowering against the workbench.

Ghoul dropped the screwdriver and mallet, wincing when Party flinched at the sound.

“Shh, shh, Party. It’s okay. It’s done. I’m sorry, Witch, I’m so sorry.”

Party’s eyes were wild when they met Ghoul’s, he began to flick his wrist, probably to reveal the gun embedded inside of it, then froze, shaking. 

Mindlessly, Ghoul kept talking, trying to keep his voice calm and soothing, penetrating the layer of whatever fear and pain and trauma were mingling in Party’s mind.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I’m trying to help and I slipped and it was my fault and I’m so sorry. I’m not going to get mad at you, you’re okay. I’m so sorry, Party. C’mon, shh, it’s okay. You’re safe, you’re safe, I promise.”

Gradually, Party started breathing slower. Their hands stopped shaking and they dropped their head to their chest, slumping back against the bench instead of holding themself rigid. They twitched their fingers back and forth sharply but didn’t reveal their gun, which Ghoul took as a good sign.

“Party?”

Another minute passed before Party looked up.

“That hurt.”

Ghoul didn’t laugh, but Party did. Sharply. He laughed again, then again and again until his laughter turned to gasps which turned to sobs and he hunched forward, shoulders shaking as strangled sounds filled the air.

“Oh, _Muat_ , shh. Shh, Party. It’s over, I’m sorry.”

It took a long time for Party to quiet again.

While he waited, Ghoul slowly pivoted to sit with his back to the bench, a few feet away from Party. At some point, Party rolled their head to look at Ghoul and Ghoul peered back cautiously.

“Sorry,” whispered Party.

“Don’t be,” Ghoul shook his head. “That was my fault. What— Can I ask what happened?”

“Nerves. Those were my nerves.”

“Fuck.”

“I’m okay. That wasn’t the first time. It’s…” It sounded more like Party was trying to reassure himself.

Ghoul already hated BL/ind. But at that moment he’d never had more undiluted rage directed at the bastards that had done that to his crewmate before. And at himself for doing it now. But that wouldn’t help Party. Party who had been so open, willing to let Ghoul at their delicate parts and trusting that he wouldn’t hurt them. Who was looking at Ghoul so carefully, like they weren’t sure what he was going to do next, but were prepared for the worst. 

Ghoul flashed a soft smile at Party and summoned his most reassuring tone, “Do you wanna stop? I can put the belt back on and we can be done or I can leave it, but Jet might get tired of carryin’ ya around all day.”

“You wouldn’t carry me around?” Party latched onto the attempt at a joke, clearly relieved.

“Nah,” Ghoul snorted. “I got other shit to do.”

They laughed together for a second. Neither of them had actually been that funny but they both needed the release, Ghoul did, at least. When they quieted, Ghoul smiled a real-er smile at Party and they almost returned it. Even the small change in expression was enough to set Ghoul’s stomach in knots. It was still pretty rare for Party to smile, and every time they did it hit Ghoul like a car.

“Ghoul?”

Ghoul shook his head, how long had he been lost in Party’s smile?

“Yeah, sorry. What’s up?”

“Can you— I’d like my leg back.”

“Okay. Don’t move, I’ll come to you. If that’s okay, of course?”

Party nodded and Ghoul breathed a sigh of relief. He inched forward, ready to stop if they looked nervous at all, but they sat still while he came closer, until he could lift their leg to his lap and peer back into the still-open panel. The pulley spun smoothly this time and it only took a second for Ghoul to slip the belt back into place.

“Try moving it now?”

Party lifted their leg and bent their knee easily.

“Thank you, Ghoul. That’s bet—” A frown crossed his face. “It works now.”

“I’m glad. You done now?”

“My ankle?”

“Oh, shit. I can—?”

“Please.”

Ghoul slid the panel shut and ghosted his fingers down Party’s leg to their ankle. They shivered at his touch, letting out a sound that Ghoul desperately tried to erase from memory. 

“Your pants’re in the way,” Ghoul ground out, not really sure why he was gritting his teeth.

“You can take them off if you need to.”

Now that wasn’t fair. Ghoul took a deep breath as he eased Party’s pants off his ankle, dropping the fabric once it was free and strictly not thinking about anything except for the task at hand. Once Ghoul got the panel open, the problem was instantly clear. Party’s breath hitched when Ghoul loosened the drive belt enough to unstick it from between the two gears that had gotten all tangled in it somehow.

“So, three moons in the desert, huh?”

Ghoul had to say something, he was going to go insane otherwise. The garage felt hot, stale, he couldn’t breathe.

“Yes…?”

“How’re you liking it?”

“It’s— Fuck,” Party _moaned_.

Ghoul bit down hard on his lip as the belt slipped out from between the gears and Party’s foot sagged. 

“Sorry, that felt weird. I like it here. Nicer than the city.”

“Yeah.” 

The air went still again, what could you really say to someone who was still adjusting to no longer being a coercively-mindless servant to a horrifying megacorporation?

Nothing. Ghoul settled on saying nothing. He tightened the belt again, gently flexing Party’s foot back and forth before sliding the panel shut and lifting Party’s foot out of his lap.

“All done!”

“Thanks, Ghoul.”

“Of course, P—”

Party leaned into Ghoul’s space and pressed their lips to his. Ghoul froze. Party’s hands found his shoulders, then one slid down to his chest and the other wrapped around the back of his neck. Ghoul’s mouth was already open, he had been in the middle of a sentence, after all, so there was no resistance when Party licked into it. Only then did Ghoul’s brain catch up with his body and he closed his eyes, pressing forward just enough to capture Party’s lips again. Again and again, Party pushed forward, licking into Ghoul’s mouth every time and clenching their fingers on the edge of his vest. Honestly, now that Ghoul wasn’t overwhelmed with _I’m kissing Party Poison why is Party kissing me holy fuck what is happening_ he noticed that the kisses were kind of awful. That was to be expected though, they were probably Party’s first kisses.

They were Party’s first kisses.

Ghoul gathered his willpower and pulled back, pressing gently against Party’s shoulder so that they knew they could leave.

“Party, no.”

Party looked at Ghoul through his eyelashes, something in his chest was whirring and Ghoul tried not to think about how much he wanted that moment to have been real.

“Thanks for fixing my leg,” Party murmured. 

Their lower lip was shiny with spit. Ghoul felt like he was going to throw up.

“You don’t have t’ do that. That’s not—” Ghoul shuddered. “Sorry, I— I have to go. I’m sorry.”

Ghoul stumbled to his feet and out of the diner. He didn’t know where he was going, only that he couldn’t stay there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Muat = Moon (Serrano)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings here are just talking about the events of the last chapter and brief discussions of coercive sexual content (although none occurs or ever did).

“What. The. Fuck. Did you do.”

Jet wasn’t asking. They were demanding an answer.

Ghoul rolled over, pressing his face into the gravel that covered the roof and groaning.

“Ghoul. Fucking look at me. What did you do?”

Footsteps got closer to Ghoul until they were next to his head, then Jet sat. Ghoul heard them cross their legs and sigh.

“Pois’s freaking out. He said you fixed his leg and he tried to thank you and you ran. ‘S convinced he did something wrong.”

“I fucked up,” Ghoul informed the gravel, getting a mouthful of it in the process.

“Sorry, I don’t speak dirteater. Get up.”

Not-so-gently, Jet grabbed Ghoul’s shoulder and levered him upright. Not willing to make this easy, Ghoul went limp, sprawling over Jet’s lap with his head upside down. The top of the diner’s neon sign looked really weird at this angle.

“Fine. Be like that,” huffed Jet.

“We kissed.”

Silence. 

Ghoul flipped his head up to look at Jet. They were rubbing their forehead, staring at the mountains in the distance as if they would rather be anywhere but on top of the diner having this conversation. Or maybe that’s just how Ghoul felt.

“I thought you weren’t going to go after them. You said—”

“I didn’t kiss him!” Ghoul sat straight upright, then hunched forward, burying his face in his hands. “I mean, I did. But… Fuck. I didn’t want to. Not like that.”

Jet’s jacket rustled, then arms enveloped Ghoul and lifted him into their lap. Ghoul buried his face in their neck and relaxed minutely as Jet stroked his hair.

“Tell me what happened.”

Haltingly, Ghoul told Jet. He told them about Party asking for help with their leg, Ghoul hurting them and how they’d panicked, “Nearly pulled his gun on me, Jet, it was  _ bad _ .” How long it had taken to get Party back to any semblance of their regular self and how trusting they’d been letting Ghoul finish with their leg even after he’d put them through so much pain. Ghoul stuttered when he got to the kiss.

“And then I packed up and he— I was in the middle of a sentence and he leaned forward and kissed me!”

“And that’s bad?” The confusion in Jet’s voice was genuine.

“He didn’t want to! I kept staring at him and I was probably making him uncomfortable, Witch, I feel like such a fucking creep. I made them take their pants off! Fuck! I don’t want to take advantage of him like that. What if that’s how it was in the city? What if that was what they had to do to get fixed? Oh, fuck, Jet, I fucked up so bad. I fucked up  _ so _ bad.”

“Hey, shut up. You aren’t like that, you know it.”

“No, Jet,” Ghoul clenched their shirt in his hands, feeling the fabric tear with how tight he pulled it. “He probably felt like he had to kiss me, oh fuck. I need to apologize. But what if he hates me? What if they never want to look at me again? Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Ghou—“

“How could I do that? How could I— Fuck. I should’ve said something. And now— Now he’s upset because of me and— Shit, what if they think I’m not gonna fix them anymore? Shit, Jet— I fucked up. I fucked up so bad, Jet, what do I do? What—“

Ghoul hunched forward, gasping. His vision blurred and a ringing filled his ears. He hardly felt gentle hands running up and down his back, or heard Jet’s voice, low in his ear. 

“Ghoul, fucking breathe. You’re okay. C’mon, breathe with me.” 

Jet began to count, up to seventeen and back down again. Ghoul joined in on the second round and his breathing slowed just enough that he could keep up. After the third count, he slumped back into Jet’s shoulder, sniffling slightly.

“They didn’t seem upset like that. More like they didn’t know why you were freaked. I see what you’re saying, trust me, I do. But I don’t think it’s like that.”

“You don’t?”

“Well… Are you taking advantage of Poison?”

“No! What the fuck?”

“I didn’t think you were,” soothed Jet. “I know you’re not like that. You know you’re not like that.”

“But does Party know I’m not like that?”

“Why don’t you ask?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings, just talking about the events of the second chapter.

As soon as Ghoul edged into the diner, Party snapped his head up to look at him. Downsides of living with someone with military-precision hearing.

“You’re okay.” Party sounded relieved.

Ghoul felt sick.

“‘M fine.”

“I was… worried? Jet said I seemed worried. What’s worried?”

Ghoul dragged himself to Party’s booth and sat across from them. He curled into the far corner, not really meeting Party’s eyes as he explained.

“Nervous, upset… Concerned might be best. People worry about other people if they think they’re hurt, or upset.”

“Worried about anyone?”

“Usually—” Ghoul looked at the waterstained ceiling tiles. “Usually people you care about. But you can worry about anyone. Or anything.”

“Oh. Worried. Noted.” Party slid into the booth and sat next to Ghoul. “I was worried about you.”

The ceiling disappeared behind Ghoul’s eyelids. He wished the rest of the world would, too.

“I’m fine, but thank you for the concern.”

“You look upset.”

“I’m—” The last thing Ghoul wanted to do was lie to Party. Even though a lie would be so much easier here. “I was upset about you kissing me.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

The world reappeared as Ghoul opened his eyes and swung his head down. Party’s head was bowed as they picked at a loop of wire that hadn’t been quite tucked into its access panel.

“Why did you? Kiss me. Why did you kiss me?”

“Kissing. ‘A way to show affection. That we like each other.’ Pressing lips and tongue in mouth. Not halfway down someone’s throat.” Party’s definition, echoed from the conversation that seemed like ages ago, made it sound easy. Simple. “I was showing affection. Did I do it wrong?”

“It’s not for… our kind of affection. It’s for romantic affection.”

“Romantic... Like Jet and Mad Gear?”

“Yeah,” the words tasted bitter. “Like Jet and Mad Gear.”

“Okay.” Party paused, eyebrows knitting briefly. “What did I do wrong?”

Ghoul stared. Party gazed back earnestly. Ghoul didn’t let himself think about their wide eyes, their soft expression, the way they looked at him like he could never hurt them.

“Kissing to show romantic affection. Did I do it wrong?”

“... What?”

Party’s brow creased. “Did I kiss you wrong?”

“Party,” Ghoul shook his head, trying to make sense of what was happening. “Why did you kiss me?”

“To show affection. I didn’t know it was reserved for romantic affection but that also applies.”

Ghoul’s head felt like it was spinning. He hadn’t taken a breath in weeks. His chest was tight and his feet buzzed.

“You didn’t feel like you had to?”

He barely heard his own voice.

“No. Did I have to? I wanted to. To show affection. That’s what you said ki—”

“You wanted to kiss me?”

“Yes.”

Like surfacing from underwater, Ghoul’s head cleared. He took a deep breath and the world seemed to come back into colour.

“You wanted to kiss me.”

It wasn’t a question this time. Party smiled, nodding eagerly now.

“Is there a better way I should have shown that?”

“Normally people ask first. Or… I guess you wouldn’t have known that.”

“Why were you upset?” The words were whispered as Party leaned closer and Ghoul could barely suppress a shiver.

“I thought— I don’t know. I thought you felt like you had to kiss me but you didn’t want to. Like it was repayment for— Like you owed me something.”

“Do I owe you something?”

“No! Never. Never. It’s only what you want. That’s all you have to do.”

“I want…” Party hesitated. “You. Like Jet and Mad Gear have. What do I have to do to get that?”

“Nothing. You’ve got me. I’m—” Ghoul tried to calm his racing heartbeat. “I’ll be yours. We can have that.”

Party nodded seriously, nose bumping against Ghoul’s.

“Then… Can I kiss you again?”

Asking was a bit unnecessary, Party’s lips brushed against Ghoul’s as he spoke.

“Yeah, you can do that.”

Party did. 


	5. Mostly-Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, brief discussions of coercive sexual content though none occurs (or ever did).

“So you thought—?” 

Laughter sounded from above Ghoul’s head and he blushed.

“I didn’t know! I thought that… I don’t know what the city’s like.”

“But you thought I didn’t want to kiss you?”

Party carded fingers through Ghoul’s hair. Where his head rested on their chest, Ghoul could hear Party’s circuitry buzz.

“No,” admitted Ghoul. “I thought you… Witch, this is stupid. Can we talk about something else?”

“Hmm, no.”

“Rude.”

Half-gently, Party tugged Ghoul’s hair. He huffed a sigh and pushed up to look at Party properly.

“I forgot that you didn’t… Know all the context for kissing. I thought that you were trying to… repay the favour? For me fixing your leg. Like you felt like you had to.”

“Like a trade?”

“Like a trade. I didn’t— I thought maybe in the city… I was worried you felt pressured into it.”

“Hmm,” Party pushed forward to kiss Ghoul softly. “I've never— there was none of that. But why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m saying it now, aren’t I?”

“Don’t do that to me again.” Party’s tone was still soft, but it was obvious he meant it. “I was worried.”

“I won’t, I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Party rolled them over. They braced themself on their elbows above Ghoul and leaned down, inches away from his mouth.

“Maybe I didn’t — Don’t — know everything about feelings and affection and things like that. But trust me when I say I wanted it. Wanted you. Copy? Jet said that trust was important to any relationship.”

Ghoul closed his eyes. “I trust you.”

He didn’t see Party lean down, but Ghoul felt Party press his lips to his own. He felt Party push into the kiss with his whole body, the way he tangled his hands in Ghoul’s hair and just barely licked into Ghoul’s mouth.

A sigh slipped through Ghoul’s lips. Party laughed softly.

“I wanted that, too. In case you were wondering.”

Ghoul opened his mouth, ready to protest the teasing. Party cut him off with another kiss, and that was way better, in Ghoul’s opinion.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, comments/kudos/[come chat on tumblr!](sleevesareforlosers.tumblr.com)


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